


Thirty Six Days

by insominia



Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Beating, Developing Relationship, Drug Use, Gang Rape, Multi, Oral Sex, Rape, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-21
Updated: 2015-07-21
Packaged: 2018-04-10 11:46:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4390649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insominia/pseuds/insominia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eighteen days in a Legion prison camp. Thirty six days of torture.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thirty Six Days

**Day 1**

Courier Six's whole body aches. She can feel hard, stone floor beneath her and a distinct lack of weight where her weapons should be. She tries to remember what happened but the blow that rendered her unconscious scrambles her memory.

She remembers the Legion...an offer of help to the NCR...a plan...a shout...Boone-

Boone! Her eyes snap open and she finds herself lying on her back, staring at bars. The room is large but divided into bare cells. No desk, she notes, the guards must be on the other side of the heavy metal door; the only way in or out. Her eyes fall on her companion, almost unrecognisable without his shades or beret. He lies in the cell beside her, an ugly bruise forming on the back of his head. In spite of it he looks almost peaceful, she envies him the oblivion, her own head is splitting.

"Boone?" she calls, her throat is dry, her voice is hoarse, "Boone?!" She shuffles over to the bars that divide them, the chain binding her shackled wrists clinking with each motion. It is another few moments before he grunts and wakes.

"Legion prison camp?" he spits, after looking around, "great."

"We'll be ok," Six says. The ghost of every story they've ever heard, the memory of everything they've ever seen for themselves and the knowledge that Boone shot his pregnant wife to spare her this very fate hovers between them.

For a moment they cannot look at each other.

The guard introduces himself later that day. Boone ignores his well rehearsed, power play speech in favour of studying him for weaknesses. He finds none. The man's face is impassive, betraying nothing and while he is lithe and smaller than the sniper, his defined muscles betray his strength. He rolls two bottles of dirty water into the cells and leaves.

"See?" Six says, uncertainly, lifting the bottle, "we'll be ok."

 

**Day 2**

Their introduction to Legion prison life begins at dawn. Between the hard floor and the unspoken anxiety of their predicament neither of them sleep. The guard enters with two others and drag Boone from his cell, he is already on his feet, he knows his close combat skills won't save him but he has to try. A prick of Med-X flows into his body, causing him to sink down as they lift him, putting paid to any ideas he had of resisting. They take him to another room beyond the cell, and engage in a good, old fashioned beating.

The Med-X is enough to make him sluggish but not enough to take the edge off the endless stream of kicks that seem to be directed at his face, gut, arms, legs...he stops noticing after a while, only aware of the pain.

They throw him back in his cell, and through the rushing in his ears he hears Six calling out to him. He opens one swollen eye long enough to see her disappear through the door. He wakes later when they bring her back, he idly wonders if she looks better than he does.

 

**Day 3**

The guard opens the door to Six's cell. At first she looks unconscious, but when he reaches out to touch her she kicks out, catching him harshly in the shin. She's on her feet swiping at him despite the shackles, ignoring the agony of her protesting limbs after yesterday's beating. At one point she has the chain that links them hooked over his neck and is pulling tight. Boone watches eagerly, thinking that she has him, until the man elbows her harshly in her tender stomach forcing her to relinquish her grip. He frees himself and brings his forearm crashing down on the back of her neck, the impact knocking her to the ground. Even though she is crumpled, he retreats. Six wipes the stars from her eyes and smiles triumphantly at her companion. "If they're all that easy I don't think we'll have anything to worry about," she sits up against the wall, ignoring the splitting pain in her head and the agony in her stomach. Some of her fresh cuts have reopened and a graze above her eye is starting to ooze blood.

She comes to regret her words, though not as much as her actions, when the guard returns with a handful of other men. She cannot take them all on, though she certainly does her best. It isn't long before she's overpowered and forced to the floor. She all but disappears from Boone's view as the men crowd her, the harsh sounds of their boots connecting with her thudding around him.

“Stop!” Boone shouts when he sees her spluttering blood onto the floor. The men ignore him but the guard takes note. He notes the way he's pressed up against the bars, the look in his eyes, the plea in his voice. The guard holds his hand up and Six groans in agony, rolling into a ball as the blows stop.

They leave Six's cell and for a second Boone is relieved. They step into his own and he doesn't even try to fight them as they wrestle him to the ground. The first few kicks hurt more than any he's received in his life, but they soon fade into a dull ache as they continue falling on him, soon he can't feel anything except glad that he's spared Six the beating.

He could take it better than her, he mutters to her after they leave and she whispers, 'why?'

 

**Day 4**

"I'm going to fuck your little whore, profligate," the guard announces, standing before Boone, safe on the other side of the bars. He hears Six's intake of breath, but neither of them are particularly surprised. If anything it's a mercy they hadn't both been taken the moment they arrived in the camp. "I doubt you'll be so eager to take her punishment for yourself today." He has an annoying voice, Boone thinks, far better to imagine him trying to speak through a bullet hole in his throat. "You tipped your hand too early, profligate," he smiles. For a moment Boone doesn't know what he means, but as the guard moves towards Six's cell it hits him. He'd asked them to stop - he showed he cared - and now whatever they did to her, they did with the full knowledge they were torturing both of them.

Boone stares straight ahead, he won't look to the side, won't give him the satisfaction of seeing past his stony facade to the pain beneath. He hears Six struggle against the man, but she is still sore and weak from yesterday's beating. It only takes two well aimed, not especially brutal thumps to stop her movements, though she still protests.  He hears the rustle of fabric and Six's cry as he enters her. "Your whore is tight, dissolute," the guard calls, "perhaps I should have had you get her ready for me."

' _Oh God not that_ ', Boone thinks. From the cry Six gives it's clear she has the same thought.

The sounds of the man thrusting harshly into her echo unpleasantly around them, punctuated with a light slapping noise every time his balls connect with her skin. "So tight," he mocks, "Are you hard? Hard, knowing I'm fucking your whore?"

He isn't, that's something he supposes. He was never much of a voyeur and the sounds of his companion being raped are certainly not turning him on. The guard mocks them until he comes, pulling out at the last moment to coat Six's bruised back in his load. He kicks her down onto the floor and turns, "same time tomorrow," he says, almost pleasantly to Boone as he leaves.

 

**Day 5**

Almost to the exact minute he comes. Six is curled into a ball in the furthest corner of the cell, as though she thinks she can make herself disappear. She is in no state to resist him as he bends her over and forces himself inside, roughly. He doesn't take long, though he still regales Boone with flowery descriptions of how good she feels, how he's going to fuck her wild open, how she won't be able to walk by the time he's finished with her.

Boone's guilt forces him to remain silent. If he hadn't spoken up this might not be happening. He stares at a distant point on the ceiling, he knows it's not true, they would have raped her regardless of anything he said or did. His only solace would have been that they might not have done it in front of him.

 

**Day 6**

It is a stray legionary that does it. They both knew it would happen eventually. A young man, seemingly a little tipsy, all but falls into the cells. If Boone thinks he could probably take this one down, the thought is lost as a pinprick in his arm reveals a needle injecting something that feels, both gloriously and horribly, like Med-X into his body. Sinking to the floor, he is at least grateful for the floating sensation and the way it dulls both the shame of having his pants pulled down and the pain of the finger exploring his asshole.

A soft moan and for a moment Boone fears it came from him, but it's the youth, enjoying his ministrations a little too much. He spits on his fingers and pushes another in, thrusting them in and out, in and out, Boone grits his teeth but makes no sound. Eventually, as he knew he would, the man positions himself at the sniper's hips and forces his erection inside. It hurts, he knows it hurts, but the Med-X is working wonders and he can barely find it in himself to care about the pain. A shame the sensation won't last until the morning. The man picks up the pace and thrusts in, muttering to himself words Boone doesn't care to hear. His surprise when the man reaches around to grab Boone's own cock is audible. He swears he hears Six laugh. The man's hand gives a few fumbled tugs at the sniper's erection, hard despite himself. Boone lowers his head and closes his eyes tight, as though he could hide from the shame. With a loud, satisfied groan the legionary empties himself, but continues to stroke Boone furiously until his seed pumps over his hand and onto the floor.

The man tidies himself up and for a moment looks like he might say something, but he stumbles from the room thinking better of it. Boone pulls his trousers up, unable to look at the courier, the blissful oblivion of Med-X already fading.

"Fucking typical," Six says softly, "only you could get the guy who wants to get you off too." She laughs, Boone laughs, they take what they can get. Both of them know they're not really laughing.

 

**Day 7**

He knows he should be concerned about the pain in his rear. And mortified that Six had been raped twice already and it wasn't even noon. But his stomach rumbles, blocking out everything Boone feels, except hunger. He is ravenous. It's been days since he ate, with only a bottle of dirty water when the guard feels like it, to stave off this crippling thirst. If he wasn't so weak he'd fight them off, the more fantastical part of his brain tells him, and for the moment he is content to listen. He stares at the ceiling and imagines how many Legion he will kill when he gets a decent meal.

 

**Day 8**

A doctor comes with the dawn. Not a Legionary either, an actual doctor. When he sees the state of them he berates the guard, though the guard takes little notice. The doctor commands they are given something to eat and food is brought. Caesar doesn't want them dead apparently...yet. They need to be doing a better job if they don't want a pair of premature corpses on their hands.

The food when it comes is cold, almost rotten and tastes like shit, but food it is and both Boone and Six practically inhale it. After they've eaten, the doctor examines them. He starts with Boone, rubbing a salve on his bruises, stitching up the cuts that need it and finally massages a lotion into the tears inside his rear. "You'll live," he says cheerfully, in a way that can't help remind Boone of Arcade. From the glance Six gives them, he thinks she heard it too.

He repeats the process with Six, but using a lot more lotion. "She should have something else to wear," the doctor says meaningfully, to the guard. Boone wonders why he would care, a wonder which quickly turns to concern when the guard actually moves to obey. He returns with a scrap of a dress and throws it into the cell. The doctor helps her undress, though Six is reluctant. Boone catches her eye; she is as wary as he is. When the doctor slips the fabric over her head he steps back to admire her, "leave her alone," Boone growls, catching the turn of the man's attentions. Six stares like a rabbit in headlights as the doctor's hand grasps her chin and he leans in to kiss her.

Kissing is new she thinks. She turns her face away but he holds her fast, so she settles for biting him instead. He cries out in pain and slaps her, Boone sees the glimpse of a grim smile as she stumbles. The doctor pins her down on the floor, Six makes an attempt at struggling, but when she realises that it's what he wants she stops, going still beneath him. He's already inside her when she goes limp, "fight back, bitch," he snarls. But Six remains motionless, a precise blow to the side of her head has her groan in pain, but she doesn't relent. Not until the third blow does she give an affected performance of resistance, trying to push him off with her hips. She muses that she should have given him what he wanted; he comes almost immediately and it would have saved her another crippling headache. In the next cell Boone stares at the ceiling, noting how a few days ago he burned with a white hot fury to know what was happening to her, now he just waits for it to be over, his fury replaced with a dull anger that will only be soothed when he wipes the Legion from the face of the earth.

The doctor treats her injured face, and leaves a flutter of a kiss on her forehead, "good girl," he murmurs as he leaves. They are fed once more that day, but they eat in silence.

It is only when they are trying to fall asleep that he hears her murmur in the darkness, "I wonder what Arcade's doing right now."

 

**Day 9**

They drag Boone out into the sun at dawn. He knows something is wrong- more so than usual- when they return his beret to him.

Chained to the wall he is left outside, his shirt torn from him, exposing his skin to the harsh desert sun. They keep him there for the day, taking it turns to beat him. He thinks they must have shifts, for they always fall upon him in groups and he never sees the same face twice.

It is only when one of them lays him flat out and he spies the momentary glint of something metallic catching the sun in the distance, that he realises. NCR are watching. That's why they gave him back the beret.

When they throw him back in the cell, he rolls himself into a ball and proceeds to spit up blood for the remaining night. He is vaguely aware of Six's fingers reaching through the bars to stroke his face. "You should see the other guy," he groans, unable to keep himself from the void. She runs her hand, gently, over the growing light fuzz on his head, ignoring the tears of helpless frustration that she can't just kill them all and help him.

 

** Day 10 **

Six is talking freely. She lies on the floor of her cell, looking at Boone, telling him all about the things they'll do back on the Strip. She talks about the tables they'll hit, the drinks they'll drink, she even describes a floor show at Gomorrah in lurid detail, even though neither of them would have visited such a place under normal circumstances. For a moment Boone worries, wondering if she's gone mad, but she holds his look and continues talking, reassuring him that they're not done yet. Brave words, he muses, given how much of her is still staining the cell floor. He'd not known a human body could lose so much blood and keep going. His own cell isn't much better.

She conjures up images of fun things they'd done in the Lucky 38. Talks about an evening spent with the others getting royally wasted in the cocktail lounge, there's more booze there than they could ever drink anyway.

Her tales are interrupted by a visit from the guard, though this time he is brief and perfunctory with her. He acts as though he simply noted raping her was on his list of daily tasks, when he's finished he walks out without so much as a scathing remark for Boone. Examine paper work-check, have lunch-check, rape prisoner-check, meeting with camp commander-check.

After he's gone Six is silent for a moment. When she eventually speaks it's to say she thinks she might be able to drink all that booze after all.

 

**Day 11**

The next day they come for Boone. Four of what look like Caesar's burliest men step into the cell and fall on him like animals. With his hands tied he has no means of even attempting to fend off the blows, so he rolls into a semi fetal position and places his mind elsewhere as they rain down their feet and fists upon him. "Leave him alone!" Six screams, and for a moment Boone is at least grateful that for as long as they're beating him, they're leaving her alone.

He is less grateful when one of them pulls his pants down and sticks an un-lubricated digit into his ass. He'd cry out from the pain, had he not already resolved that he'd never give them the satisfaction. It hurt like hell but not as much as he thought it would; the drunk legionary had done him a strange favour he muses. The finger disappears replaced with the man's cock and whatever promises he made to himself dissolve as pain explodes within him. He cries out.

"Just stop!" Six shouts.

"Perhaps you'd like to take his place?" one of them taunts, lifting Boone's bloody face from the ground to look at her. He can see her biting her lip, he knows that sign, the sign she's about to do something monumentally stupid. "No," he spits, though mostly blood sprays out.

"Yes," she says and to his surprise the man stops. They leave him where he lies and take their turns with her, mocking how the sniper was far tighter than she had been.

By the time they're done both prisoners are a bloody mess on the floor. Six pulls herself over to the bars that separate them and takes his hand.

"I can take it better than you," she whispers before he can ask. Boone squeezes her hand but disgust washes over him. Disgust with him for being grateful, disgust with her for debasing herself so, and of course disgust with _them_. She senses the change in him and looks to say something, but there is nothing to say and so she simply holds his hand and lays herself down against the bars.

They sleep like that until the morning when the guard breaks them apart and stamps on their hands, shattering more than a few bones in the process. In spite of the pain Six catches Boone's eye and smiles defiantly.

 

**Day 12**

The guard deigns to feed his charges, though whatever it is could never be considered food. It's tough, almost certainly irradiated and Boone wants to vomit as soon as  _it_ touches his lips. Beside him, Six retches but forces it down, who knows when their next meal might be. Boone idly wonders if he'll ever taste real food again.

A bottle of dirty water is rolled into Six's cell and she guzzles it down desperately. Despite himself Boone looks to the guard for his own relief. The man only smiles, "that was to share," he mocks and leaves, still laughing. Six's head snaps up in horror and she looks at Boone as though she might cry. He laughs, actually laughs at the situation. The woman who is being raped and beaten daily looks to shed tears that she drunk his water ration. "It's ok," he assures her.

He's gone this long, he can go a little longer. And if he doesn't, there are worse things than thirsting to death.

 

**Day 13**

They force him to watch.

There are six of them, bitterly ironic, crowding around her cell. They take it in turns, always from behind, not mindful of which hole they use. Sometimes one of them forces her mouth on him at the same time. The guard tells Boone he has to watch them fuck his whore the moment they enter. At first he doesn't look, but when he turns away she gives a sharp scream. When he looks back the guard has a thin knife cutting into her arm.

"For every time you look away, I cut her a new hole," he sneers. Boone tries, really tries, not to look away. He can't look at Six, so instead he keeps his eyes fixed on whichever one of them has their way with them. By the end he has committed them so successfully to memory he could count their eyelashes by recollection alone.

When they finish Six only has three additional cuts to add to her rapidly increasing number of scars. To Boone's surprise she actually thanks him, choking out the word before passing out from pain, blood loss, exhaustion, shame, hunger, thirst or any hellish combination of all of them. Someone comes later to dress her wounds, a slave woman who seems to do an actually decent job of it. She doesn't meet Boone's eyes but she slips him a couple of bottles of dirty water and leaves as quietly as she came in.

 

**Day 14**

They leave them alone the next day. Entirely. They are not fed or watered. But neither are they raped or beaten. Six lies against the bars, the closest she can get to Boone and he strokes her hair, gently. “Do you think they'll kill us?” she asks, the note of hope evident in her voice.

Boone shrugs, he doesn't know, but he likes to think they will too.

 

**Day 15**

Boone can't help but grunt against the force of the cock being thrust into his mouth. The legionary holds his face firmly in place, fucking his way into the sniper's throat. When Boone had woken up that morning he still had a gag reflex, but it seemed to be face fucking day in the camp and legionary after legionary had visited the cells, to have one of the prisoners suck them off. The gag reflex had all but disappeared after the fourth visitor.

One more thrust and the man is spent, cumming violently into Boone's throat. He gives the sniper a pat on the head and leaves. The moment the door is closed Boone spits. " _Hold it in your throat, if you can_ ," Six had told him that morning, after he'd vomited after swallowing, "s _pit it out after they're gone_." As the milky seed hits the ground, Boone retches and vomits. Again. He can't tell whether it's shame or the taste that causes it.

"And people swallow for fun?" he gasps, incredulously. Six slips him the bottle of dirty water they were taking turns to hide. He takes a sip to rinse out his mouth and returns it, this water isn't for drinking.

Six smiles, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze, "yeah but people suck cock for fun. I remember when sucking cock used to be fun," she sighs.

He looks taken aback, more because she admitted to remembering something than what she said, "do you?"

She laughs, "no, not really, but I imagine it must have been."

The light dims as the sun sets and the final legionary steps in. He surveys the cells as though he couldn't really care less which of them will do. He steps towards Boone's cell, the closest to the door, but Six calls out to him. He turns to her and she starts spouting filthy fantasies about what she could do his cock that actually cause Boone to flush red. He hadn't realized she had the power to embarrass him given all they'd seen. He even feels something akin to arousal as she talks about the things she can do with her tongue, he figured they'd beaten that out of him when they'd raped him.

The legionary's erection strains at his uniform and he moves towards her, not bothering to open the door, grabbing her chin through the bars and forcing her on him. She makes short work of him but the legionary doesn't seem to mind, calling her a good little whore and unable to suppress his groan of pleasure when he comes.

"What the hell was that?!" Boone demands after the man has left and Six rinses her mouth.

She grins at him, "that was called winning."

"Winning?"

"Sure, we were six cocks a piece. That makes seven for me. I win."

They both look at each other and chuckle. "You're insane," he smiles.

"We do what we have to," she says, but her smile is gone.

 

**Day 16**

Boone's eyes remain closed when he wakes. He hears a legionary thrusting into Six, though from the absence of protesting sounds she's either unconscious or has become so accustomed she doesn't bother resisting anymore. As he can't imagine her ever giving up, he likes to think it's the former. A few more grunts and the man comes with a loud groan. He spits on her as he leaves, leaving her matted dress tangled around her waist where she lies.

When the door slams shut, Boone opens his eyes and looks over at her. Not unconscious.

But the man is the only one to visit that day, as far as she's concerned at least, and for that Boone finds himself unexpectedly grateful.

Small mercies.

 

**Day 17**

Two legionaries step into Six's cell at dawn. They both take an arm and drag her sleeping form out, though she wakes she knows better than to struggle. She groans at the motions, and for that one of them backhands her.

"Going to have us a little spit-roast in the sun," one of them teases the sniper, but Boone forces his face to remain impassive. It's not a difficult task, though the pit in his stomach disagrees. They drag her out, laughing to each other, while Boone is left alone for the day.

They return her at dusk. Her left eye is blackened, her right so swollen she cannot open it and her skin shows all the hallmarks of being left to blister in the unforgiving desert sun all day. She cannot walk properly, all but dragging herself into her own cell, collapsing once she reaches it. Boone sees blood and semen crusting around her mouth, he can see she's lost a tooth.

Bile rises in his throat as he realizes he's actually relieved. Relieved that he didn't have to watch. Nausea and disgust wash over him and he all but throws up in a corner, loathing himself for the treachery of feeling.

 

** Day 18 **

At first he dismisses the sounds as part of a particularly tormenting dream. Gunshots, shouts, everything he's been wishing for, and so Boone doesn't wake. If it is a dream, he'd sooner stay there anyway. It is only when a particularly violent explosion rocks the prison, sending pieces of plaster down around him that he wrenches himself into consciousness, he can smell something burning beyond the walls. The guard runs in to check on them, seemingly satisfied when he sees them still locked in. He draws a machete and lies in wait. Boone looks over, Six is looking at him, she's awake, she's smiling, though the manic hint behind her eyes is a little too disconcerting for the sniper to hold.

It is Raul that finds them. He kicks open the door and a well aimed quick draw has the guard disarmed. Another to the leg has him on the ground. "Wait!" Boone roars. Raul looks at him and Boone shakes his head. He leaves the guard where he is, he assumes the man has been kind to them or helped them in some way and Boone will spare him for his assistance. "I've found them!" the ghoul shouts, taking the guard's keys and unlocking the cells. He releases Boone first, who wastes no time in taking one of Raul's guns. He kicks the guard hard in the chest, forcing him onto his back. He unloads the chamber into the man's head, though there is nothing left of it after the third shot. He keeps firing long after the magnum clicks in empty protest, keeps his finger pulling the trigger until Raul gently pries it from his hand. Boone gives it up reluctantly but glad he was at least the last thing someone saw, for a change.

 

**Day 19**

They are both taken to an NCR camp. Which one, Boone doesn't care to recognize. He's been on a stretcher since the troopers got him across Legion lines, even though he protested he could walk just fine. Cass tells him Arcade doesn't want to take any chances until he's been examined. The thought does little to reassure him.

Six needs a stretcher far more. She drifts in and out of consciousness, her agitated voice calling for the sniper when she realizes she is being moved, but his replies reassure her long enough for her to fall once more into darkness. Boone wonders if she knows she's been rescued.

The journey is made in silence. Arcade fails to make a single reference in English or Latin, Veronica keeps her one liners to herself, even ED-E is quiet, the only sounds coming from Rex who whimpers as he keeps pace beside Six's stretcher.

When they arrive, Boone and Six are deposited in the medical tent. Arcade treats Six himself, occasionally unable to stop a soft, ' _oh no_ ,' escaping as he examines her. More than once he cannot stop his head jerking up to look at Boone, as though he cannot believe what he's seeing. Boone's lips are drawn so tight they might have disappeared, it does nothing to reassure the doctor.

He pumps her full of Med-X to keep her down for the night, it'll be the last restful night she has for a while.

A long while.

 

** Day 20 **

Arcade has a quiet word with the courier's usual companions and by the end of the day they have all moved on, leaving just the doctor, a medic and the NCR troopers that survived the skirmish. Boone is not sorry to see them go, sick of the pitying looks, the constant offer of 'being there' if he needed to talk, all of them conveniently forgetting that he never talked before hand and his silence is little, if anything, to do with his psychological state.

Six on the other hand pours all her troubles out to Arcade, the only doctor she trusts to come near her. She positively screams when the NCR medic tries to dress a wound. Boone knows he knows, he can tell by the way Arcade catches his eye occasionally as though assessing him for damage. For his part Boone won't let Gannon near him, choosing instead the blissful anonymity of the NCR medic. She fixes him up and makes no comment about the nature of his wounds. When she has patched up all his cuts, bruises and the lump on his head that never quite went away, she quietly offers him the name of a guy at Camp Golf, apparently good with guys about this kind of thing. He should talk to him. Boone nods at her and instantly dismisses the name. He would sooner put a bullet in his head than talk to anyone about what happened.

That night Boone's sleep of the dead is interrupted by screams. Six's screams. He grabs his rifle and bursts into the medical tent but the Legion have not come, only the nightmares. Arcade is prepping a needle to calm her, but she stills when she sees Boone. The doctor raises an eyebrow but Boone waves him away, he hears him tell the troopers that have gathered outside that they can go back to bed - false alarm.

Boone lies down next to Six on the bedroll, gathering her to him. She is asleep almost immediately, folding herself against him as though she could be consumed and disappear. He imagines disappearing is a very pleasant concept right now, it is his last coherent thought as he drifts into fractured sleep himself.

 

**Day 21**

Six slips from Boone's arms before he wakes. Silently she searches for the doctor's bag she saw earlier and as quietly as she can, rustles through it. With a glance over at the sleeping frame of her friend she measures a dose of Med-X and injects it into her veins, taking the edge off both her pain and her memories. She hides the empty vial in her boot and slides back into Boone's arms.

For most of the day she is unexpectedly herself again. She talks, even laughs and suggests she'd like to try a short walk. Arcade refuses and attributes this refusal to the reason her mood dissipates as the day draws on. Boone watches her intently and when he lies down beside her that night, he holds her a little tighter.

 

**Day 22**

The medic declares them well enough to walk, or at least amble, the two day journey back to Vegas. They could do it in one but neither she or Arcade want to take any chances. And so they set off.

Both Six and Boone wince from the continuous movement, but they push it aside, eager to get out of the desert and back to their home.

When they camp out at an abandoned building, Boone offers to take watch. The place has been stripped bare, completely bare.. _.too similar_. He's surprised Six doesn't notice it, or if she does, why it doesn't bother her. When Arcade all but orders him to rest he does so outside. Six, unusually, sleeps just fine without him. In the early hours of the morning he swears he overhears Arcade complaining about misplaced Med-X.

 

**Day 23**

Six finds Boone asleep against the wall outside. Wrapping her hand around his, she slips down beside him, holding him until he wakes. She can't help but note that old Boone wouldn't have slept through the touch. When he wakes, he is content to remain with her against the wall and doesn't move.

The troopers pack up around them while they rest, pleasantly comfortable in the balmy dawn sun. That night they stop at an NCR outpost, a stone's throw from Vegas. The medic moves on with half the troopers, heading for Golf, leaving Arcade to redress those injuries of Boone's that still need it. His body is still an angry shade of purple but the doctor works in silence, something which Boone appreciates is entirely out of character. “Thanks,” he says, meaningfully as Arcade finishes. He's only half talking about the treatment.

 

**Day 24**

They arrive at the Strip in the early afternoon, having dropped what remained of their escort at McCarran. Life in Vegas has continued without them, Six notes, as though 'the hero of the wastes' had never left, or mattered.

Her friends are all at the '38 when they arrive, though their entrance is somewhat muted. Boone immediately opts for a bath, though it's not hot enough to scourge the nightmares from him. He at least shaves his head and when he looks at his face in the mirror, he starts to feel a bit more like himself, fading black eyes notwithstanding. Six attempts conversation with the others, but finds it hard to concentrate on banality and talk quickly becomes stinted and awkward. She suddenly wants to venture outside, confined spaces suddenly feeling _very_ confined.

She waits until Arcade is busy and slips out, finding a quiet spot by the Ultra-Luxe fountain to sit. She is trailing her hand through the water when Boone finds her, and for a moment they feel like naughty children escaping an overprotective parent. Neither smile.

Once more it is Raul who finds them. They think he has come to take them back but instead he joins them, offering out a pack of cigarettes. They sit until the stars come out, smoking the packet away with gusto, until a White Glove comes to herd them away for dropping butts into the fountain.

 

**Day 25**

Boone and Six still share her bed, and nobody says a word. Before they would have been teased mercilessly, but now even Cass holds her tongue. Any thought of mockery is banished when they see Six fall asleep on the sofa, only to wake moments later frantically screaming for the sniper, even though the others are beside her. Boone holds her wordlessly, noticing the trembles beneath her shaking frame, all of which are gone when she returns from the bathroom, ostensibly to splash water on her face. Boone frowns. He knows it's getting out of hand.

 

**Day 26**

The day passes uneventfully. Raul plays a few hands of pool with the sniper, who muses on how quickly it is that they can settle back into normality. The thought is as reassuring as it is disconcerting. That night he retires before the courier, who assures him she'll be just a minute. He is asleep in seconds.

The tell tale ' _ding_ ' of the elevator wakes him in the horribly early hours. The bed hasn't been slept in. Cursing he throws on some clothes and follows her, trailing her at a distance to the Wrangler. He watches her put away a bottle of whisky with unhealthy enthusiasm, though not once does she smile or give any indication that she's enjoying herself. Leaning over the bar, Six slips James some caps, before disappearing upstairs. Boone groans when the damned robot follows her.

By the time she comes out, over an hour, later she's drunk or high, maybe both, and sporting a fine bruise on her cheek. She doesn't seem to notice and she certainly misses Boone as she stumbles into the street and crashes into an alleyway. She doesn't see Boone approach as she fumbles with another shot of Med-X. Without a word, he slaps the vial away from her hand and crushes it underfoot. Whatever protests she has die away when she realizes who has found her. Six doesn't struggle as he lifts her easily into his arms and carries her to the Mormon fort.

He demands a doctor and despite the ungodly hour his tone brooks no argument.

"She's addicted to Med-X," he tells the doctor and throws him the caps to sort it, the only caps he has to his name.

Six is aghast on the bed, her protests and excuses die away as the doctor gives her an altogether more beneficial injection. Boone sits beside her as she slips into unconsciousness, cold fury keeping him painfully alert while she sleeps.

 

**Day 27**

He's still angry when she wakes. She comes around slowly. So, _so_ slowly he thinks she must know what's coming. Bracing herself for Boone's wrath, Six is surprised when it never comes. Instead he covers her hand with his and lifting her from the bed, he leads her away. They do not turn towards the Strip, instead he guides her from Freeside into the Mojave, ignoring her questions about where they're heading. Only when they're out of sight of anything that indicates civilization does he release her and unleash his anger.

He slaps her before he can stop himself, she reels back more from shock than actual pain, " _What the hell were you thinking_?!" he roars. Never a man of words before, he makes up for it now as he lets loose an angry tirade.

" _Getting addicted to chems_?!...

... _I know it's hard, I know! But for fuck's sake Six!_...

... _You paid a robot to use you like a whore!_...

... _We came through all that and for this?! For you to get pepped up on drugs and get fucked by a fucking robot?!_...

... _A fucking robot Six?!_...

 _...What they did to you doesn't make you a whore, Six! You don't need to act like one_!"

Her head snaps up and she suddenly screams back, "I turned sucking their cocks into a game, Boone!” her admission shocks him into silence. For a moment she is filled with fire, the same righteous fire that inspired her to go out and bring justice to the wasteland. “They called me a whore and didn't I fucking act like it?! By the end of it I wasn't even fighting them!"

Then just like that the fire is gone and she drops heavily into the sand, drawing her knees to her chest, "My God, the things I let them do to me...the things I let them do to _you_!" she punches the ground, fruitlessly, "I should have fought harder, why didn't I fight harder? Fuck me, a game! _A fucking game_!"

Boone kneels down next to her, taking her hand in his to stop her punching the sand, "you did what you had to do, we both did...I...I'm sorry I couldn't stop them too. Fuck, I'd have taken every beating if I could have protected you. I should have done more."

"You did what you could," she says, blankly, "we both did I guess."

Silence.

"You're not a whore, Six."

She sniffs, the tears aren't far behind and soon she's weeping uncontrollably. Horrible, gut wrenching cries are wrested from her, her body racked with shudders as she doubles over struggling to gulp down air against the sobs. Boone lets her cry and would never admit to his own, far more subdued, tears.

An age passes, her howls subside and they stand together. He draws the courier into an embrace and together they move on. When they return to the Lucky 38 they feel lighter, not healed, but not broken either. The worst of their demons are left behind to be burned away by the Mojave.

 

**Day 28**

Arcade notices it straight away. Six seems more grounded, upbeat almost, as though a great weight has been lifted from her. The others quickly pick up on it, from the way she actually eats her food rather than pushing it around her plate, to the way she talks about normal, mundane things. She talks about needing new armor, replacement weapons and discusses with Raul and Veronica where best she might procure them. Boone is changed too; quiet now instead of silent. He no longer watches Six like a hawk. When Arcade insists they rest, concerned still for their fading injuries, they do so together by choice rather than necessity, and when the courier dozes in the evening on a sofa, she doesn't wake screaming.

Nobody comments on Six's bruised face.

 

**Day 29**

Raul gifts Six a pistol, not her usual weapon of choice but it will suffice until she can replace her weapons. She intends to head over to McCarran, and yes Arcade, she'll take the Goddamn train, stop fussing, she calls as he reminds her  _again_ that she shouldn't be walking such distances while she's still recovering. Six doesn't mention the outing specifically to Boone. She doesn't ask him to accompany her, she doesn't need to. When she leaves he is waiting on the casino floor for her, his spare rifle case slung over his back.

They travel in silence, as they had in the days _before_ and for a time everything is as it was. A semblance of normality is achieved.

At McCarran Lieutenant Boyd offers them the pick of the spare weapons, a gift for all the pair have done for the NCR. Six tells her how grateful they are for their rescue. Boyd laughs it off, telling them if they want to express gratitude they can check out rumors that the Legion advance scout are holed up in a farmstead nearby.

For a moment Boone feels as though a great weight is crushing his chest, he can't breathe against the unfamiliar terror of going into action against the Legion, a feeling entirely alien to him. Beads of cold sweat break out under his beret and he sees that Six is equally unnerved. She is holding his gaze and for a while neither of them reply, but when he nods, almost imperceptibly, she agrees.

 

**Day 30**

They don't go back the Lucky 38, they know that if they do Arcade will throw a small fit and confine them there, recruiting the others to help him. They're not fit enough to take on a Legion scouting party, they know it's a stupid idea, but they know they'll do it anyway. They do not speak of it, not to Boyd after she gives them the details, not to the troopers who escorted them back and wish them well, not even to each other. They simply agree and move on. The Mojave is bathed in a cool pre-dawn darkness when they set out, hoping to get the element of surprise.

They take up a position on a ridge overlooking the farmstead. Boone sets up his rifle and lies down in the sand, Six sits beside him in silence as he scouts the area through his scope.

"They're all inside," he grunts, surveying the farmhouse, "no traps or guards, either. They must be lying low."

"Inside?" Six murmurs, checking her pack. Along with a shiny new shotgun, she's picked up a handful of NCR explosives. She forms a plan, Boone doesn't need to ask and neither of them address the fact that both of them are absolutely terrified of her going in so close to them.

She slides down the dune in silence, creeping towards the farmhouse, keeping low. At least the darkness is on her side, even if someone should look from the window they shouldn't spot her. The only light comes faintly from the house, it does little to illuminate the area.

When she reaches the building, she flattens herself against a wall and tries to control her panicked breathing. There was a time when this wouldn't have bothered her, she muses, the knowledge that Boone was watching her through the scope would have been enough to calm her. But the memory of what they would do to her if they caught her, and the fact that Boone's scope hadn't saved them last time was all but blocking out rationality. From his position, Boone sees her struggling, he can all but see the panic in her face. _Shit_ , why did they think this was a good idea?

An age passes. Eventually she controls herself, the idea that if the Legion pour out of the house, Boone will put a bullet in her head is enough to compose her. She sneaks to the door and plants a frag mine. She crawls around the house and plants dynamite at intervals, but she is not as thorough as she once would have been. She all but runs from the place, hiding behind a bush, prepping an incendiary grenade. Boone sees her arch gracefully as she tosses it. It smashes through a window and within seconds the building is ablaze.

Six watches, crouched, as violent flames consume the walls, setting off the dynamite as they spread. The frag mine detonates as someone tries to escape through the door. She can see flaming bodies running into the desert only to be stopped abruptly as Boone picks them off at distance. The whole affair is over within minutes, the scouts either burned or shot. Six returns to the sniper's position and together they watch the place burn. There is nothing else by morning, and Boone finds himself unexpectedly relieved that they pulled it off. Six surveys the ash, thoughtfully, "huh...they can die," she says, quietly "I'd forgotten." He knows what she means.

 

**Day 31**

Arcade says nothing when they return, smelling of distant smoke, having evidently seen some action. He insists on examining them, but aside from this and the occasional moments where Six, Boone or both find themselves staring into space at an innocuous comment, an expression of blank horror momentarily clouding them, there would be no sign of what had happened _before_.

Six and Raul perform maintenance on everyone's gear and Boone starts cooking at noon, preparing Brahmin steak stew; possibly the only thing he can cook decently, en masse.

As they all gather around the table, digging into the best meal any of them can prepare, Arcade takes in the sniper and the courier. They're eating, talking (or in the former's case: not talking) and he thinks that actually, they might be ok.

That night Boone does not dream in terror of being beaten or raped, instead he sees fiery legionaries, burning as he picks them off with his scope. He smiles in his sleep.

 

**Day 32**

Cass suggests they all have a night out, like they did... _before_. Always ' _before_ ', and even then everyone steals furtive glances at Boone and Six, as though fearing they might trigger a breakdown. When Six agrees, the house becomes enthusiastic and the day is spent in preparation for the evening, complete with pre-drinks in the cocktail lounge. Boone opts to remain behind, the first time he and Six have separated since their ordeal. As the party heads out Raul lingers for a moment. Under the pretense of forgetting something he finds Boone in the kitchen and mutters, "I'll keep an eye on the boss." Boone nods, surprisingly relieved.

The suite falls into silence with the ghoul's departure and for a moment Boone wonders what he is to do with all this space. He takes advantage of the peace and does little things that remind him he can be a human being. He has a bath, he cleans his rifle without needing to and starts on a book. Sometimes memories of the camp come unbidden to his mind but he forces them away. They do not haunt him as much since he and Six took down the scouting party, since he reminded himself that he could take them down in a far more final way than they had inflicted on him.

The elevator, when it arrives, surprises him. From his place in the rec room he sees Six head quickly to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Raul is with her, but does not follow her. Sighting Boone he sits beside him, "She was doing fine," the ghoul says, confusion evident in his voice, "she was chatting to this guy, I thought she was having fun. And then she just said she was going, I dunno what happened."

Boone leaves her for a moment before knocking lightly on the door. There is no answer but he enters anyway. Six is lying on the couch, hugging a pillow to her chest, staring at the wall. He crouches down next to her.

"I'm not a whore," she says suddenly, though he's unsure if she's addressing him. "I was...I was flirting with this guy. He was nice. And then I just thought... I thought of..." she throws the cushion away, violently, "poor guy, didn't know what he did wrong...didn't _do_ anything wrong," she pauses, " _fuck_. I'm a mess."

Boone has nothing to offer so he settles for taking her hand in his and holding it, tightly. "I'm not a whore," she says, again. Boone knows she's not talking to him.

 

**Day 33**

It's obvious the next day that Six is avoiding the sniper, though he cannot fathom the reasons and so he doesn't try. He is sitting on the couch in the bedroom they've come to share, when she approaches him. The others are out. Supply run. He's surprised she remained.

She perches on the coffee table before him and he sets his book aside, looking at her expectantly. Six's eyes are fixed firmly on the floor, she's never approached him without speaking straight away and the irrational part of him fears she'll send him back to Novac.

"So..." she says, quietly, "So I've been thinking...wondering...uh... _hoping_ you could...uh...would...do me a favor?"

She's never been so indirect, he starts to worry.

The words tumble from her mouth in rapid succession, "Would you... _could_ you...have sex with me?"

For a moment Boone is speechless but not by choice. The silence stretches from seconds into minutes before Boone feels compelled to break it, not least because Six looks like she might be about to bolt from the room in terror.

"Oh," is all he can manage.

"It's just..." she says quickly, but breaks off, unable to voice her jumbled thoughts. ' _Everything feels degrading now. I don't want to give them the satisfaction of making me always afraid. I fucked a robot for fuck's sake. I want to remember a time when sex didn't mean rape. I'm not a whore. I couldn't even flirt with that guy yesterday..._ ' he sees all of this pass over her face before she settles on, "you're the only one I trust."

When he doesn't respond she flushes red, "I'm so sorry, forget I said anything, I'm not thinking straight," she turns to run, but Boone catches her hand. He pulls her towards him, sharply, and catches her lips with his own. The kiss is slow, gentle, a haven against the horrors that have haunted them since they woke in the camp.

He pulls her to sit beside him, wrapping one arm around her shoulder, while they make out like a pair of teenagers having their first kiss.

They're still kissing in full view of the elevator when the others return. That night they're fair game. They all stay up late in the rec room, drinking sarsaparilla and sharing laughs. As the group gradually drifts away it falls to Veronica to find a blanket. She covers Boone and Six with it, both asleep on the sofa; Boone with his head flung back and his mouth open unattractively, while Six's head leans awkwardly on his shoulder.

 

**Day 34**

Six starts talking about travelling again. Cass and Veronica encourage her, Arcade preaches caution, Raul shrugs, 'whatever boss,' while Boone of course says nothing, but ensures his gear is primed and ready to go at a moment's notice; as eager to get back out into the field as he is terrified by the prospect.

Later, the courier suggests that she might be ready to sleep alone and thanks him for putting up with her. She can't figure out why he's suddenly so annoyed, or why he leaves mid conversation. It is only much later in the evening that she realizes that perhaps, just _perhaps_ he wasn't doing it solely for her benefit.

 

**Day 35**

Boone sleeps badly, so badly he can't bring himself to talk to Six in the morning. His night is defined by dreams of normalcy fractured by violent images of the Legion. Thankfully he dreams of the beatings, not the rape and finds himself at least grateful that he doesn't have to dream of sucking cocks.

The ham radio is set up in the kitchen and Six is glued to it for the day. She talks occasionally, listens mostly and takes notes; drawing lines on a paper map of the Mojave. The others stay out of her way, passing through the kitchen at intervals, but nothing distracts her from her work.

Cass and Raul decide to go for a jaunt around the Strip, inviting Boone and pleasantly surprised when he decides to join them. He has a unexpectedly good time, managing to win back the caps he spent on the doctor for Six's addiction problem, which he promptly spends on the next few rounds, feeling generous. He drinks far less than his friends and opts to relax in the bath when he returns without them, the night far too young for their tastes even though the suite is almost in darkness when he arrives. The only light comes from the kitchen where he assumes Six is still working.

The water is almost scalding but Boone doesn't care, he prefers it hot...or at least he has since they came back from the camp, as though he could burn away the memories in the tub. He's not sure how long he stays, but he hears nothing, save the occasional indistinct murmur from the kitchen. He towels off and heads for the bedroom, almost getting as far as the bed itself before he kicks himself. On auto pilot he finds himself in Six's room, the room which until the day before he had spent his nights in. He mentally kicks himself and turns to leave, practically walking into Six as he opens the door to leave. "Oh," she says in surprise.

They stare at each other for a moment, "wrong room," he shrugs.

Neither of them know which of them moved first, but his arms are around her and she kisses him, passionately. He steps back into the room with her, her foot kicking the door shut, not releasing his lips for a second. They stand like that in the center of the room for a while, tasting the other's lips, before they break apart breathless.

She runs her hands over his bare chest, trying to avoid the remains of ugly black bruises, as though testing to see if he's corporeal, as though she can't believe he's really there. He lowers his head and teases the hollow of her neck with his tongue, smiling when she nestles against him and moans softly. His hands are making short work of her clothes, slipping her out of them and leaving them pooled on the floor. The soft light of the lamp shows her fading bruises and the beginnings of scars as her cuts heal. For a moment they stare at each other, at the obvious damage, "I'm sorry," he murmurs against her skin, kissing his way across her chest down to her breasts. Any reply she intends is lost as he takes one nipple in his mouth, swirling his tongue around it and nipping lightly with his teeth. Six is stripping him of the soft trousers he'd donned after the bath, reaching her fingers under elastic to find his length.

When she takes him in hand, Boone lifts her easily into his arms and plants her softly on the bed, sliding in beside her, and then their hands are everywhere. He gasps sharply as she wraps firm fingers around his member, stroking with deliberate precision, swiping her thumb over the head for added effect. Boone's hands fall away as she works, he lies back on the bed and lets her work, before she surprises him completely by taking him in her mouth. "You don't have to," he says quickly, but breaks off as she lowers her mouth, tracing his shaft with lazy circles, he groans and falls back on the pillows, trying very, very hard not to remember the last time he'd seen her with a cock in her mouth.

She takes her time, studying him for reactions and enjoying each one, however slight. She notes the way he closes his eyes, the way his fingers alternate between running over her shoulders to biting her flesh with his nails when she does that- yes _that_ , with her tongue, his soft sighs. Why haven't they done this before?  
A disappointed groan escapes him when she releases him, but he meets her eyes intensely when he sees her slide up to straddle him. She all but looks at him for permission, while his eyes implore her that she doesn't have to...but God he wants her to. His hands guide her hips, marveling at the softness of her skin, how can anyone have such soft skin in the desert? For a moment he is distracted, his hands stroking and massaging her waist. Smiling wickedly she teases him, rubbing herself against him while he bucks against her trying to pin her down. With a frustrated groan he pulls her aside, then he is on top of her, pushing into her with a single thrust. She moans loudly, for a moment he freezes, thinking he's gone too far. But soon she is rocking against him, wrapping her legs around his waist pulling him deeper. He takes the hint and starts moving with her, taking his time, thrusting with agonizing slowness. "Tease," she gasps, but the way she flings her head back, baring her throat show she's enjoying it. He lowers his mouth to her breast again and starts sucking at it, enjoying the soft whimpers that escape her, even though she's trying to keep quiet. She's tightening around him, and her legs urge him to move faster, "please," she begs, breathlessly, "oh fuck, Craig!" It's the first time she's called him by his first name. He can feel her building and obliges, bringing himself as deep as he can with each movement. Boone's lips claim hers as she comes, crying his name. Seeing her go wild beneath him is enough to send him over the edge and with a sigh he comes inside her, struggling to keep his weight off her as stars bloom before his eyes.

For a while neither of them move, content to lie like that, staring at each other as though they can't quite believe what happened. Eventually fatigue takes over and he lies down beside her, pulling her closer to him than they had ever been before. She wraps one leg over him and drapes one arm possessively over his chest. He strokes her hair and whispers into her ear, "you're not a whore, Six."

She tenses for just a moment and then relaxes. He can see the hint of a tear glistening in the corner of her eye when she kisses him, but she doesn't let that stop her. They make love throughout the night, and by morning he can't remember her lips around anyone's cock but his own.

 

**Day 36**

Boone's rifle is primed, Six's pack loaded with all manner of supplies except medical. Boone has taken charge of the Med-X. They wait for the elevator in silence, the courier studying the paper map she has all but rendered unreadable with circles, crosses and numbers; the location of every Legion sighting in the last three days. Arcade urges caution and makes her swear to radio in every night, and if they find themselves hurting too bad to head to the nearest outpost. Over her shoulder Boone nods, which does more to assure the doctor than Six's promises.

The elevator dings and begins its slow descent. He steals a look at her, but she catches his eye and smiles. Leaning in she kisses him slowly, breaking away only after the doors have opened. They step into the casino and he sees her visibly steel herself, bracing herself for what's to come, as she pushes open the heavy doors and they step into the blinding light of the Mojave.

 


End file.
